Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable – Review and Discussion Questions

Unstoppable Review with Discussion Questions for your family, friends or small group

To Know Before You Go:

Movie: Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable
Rating: PG
Age Suggestion: 8+
Running Time: 1 hr. and 38 min. 
Release Date: 7/12/2019
Stars: 4 out of 5 
Themes: Resilience, Determination, Motivation, Friendship, Family, Team Work, Struggle, Faith
Warnings: There’s a lot of discussion surrounding the shark attack Bethany survived, but this is a documentary and there is not a lot of blood shown and none related to the attack.

Quick Summary:

What’s next after Soul Surfer? This documentary follows Bethany’s life (specifically her surfing journey), from before the shark attack and beyond. Pulling back the curtain a little to show us all the personal and career struggles that come with life altering pain and fame in an inspirational way.

Unstoppable Discussion Questions: 

1) Did anything surprise you about Bethany’s journey?
2) What are five things that you have accomplished in your life?
3) Who’s your support team and who are you supporting?
4) What motivates you to get back up when you’ve been knocked down?
5) How do you overcome your fears?
6) What is your current passion and dream? Would you be ok with that changing?

Unstoppable Review 

Thoughts from the Elf:

-I have always been a fan of Bethany Hamilton. Going into the documentary I was expecting to see more about how Bethany had adjusted and adapts in her every day life, especially as a mom. It was more focused on surfing and less focused on her life outside of surfing than I thought it would be. That being said though, I’m really glad I went to see and review this. It was not exactly what I was expecting but it was still incredibly inspiring.
-What beautiful shots of nature!! There were times I felt like I was in the wave with her. The film was pieced together wonderfully.
– It was incredibly encouraging to see how Bethany kept moving forward and getting back up despite the difficulties that stood in her way. I particularly liked how she pointed out how important it was to be grateful for the small and big gifts/ successes in our lives. She mentioned multiple times that she relied so much on God to get her through difficult times. Hardship doesn’t have to define us but we can let it refine us. I appreciated too, that she showed a little bit of how much she struggled with career, identity and direction. And beyond that- showing that it’s ok to get discouraged, but it does you no good to tread water and stay there forever.
-This film was a great reminder that we all have struggles and that our friends who are differently abled are amazing and should not be defined by their abilities. My favorite part of the trailer was hearing her say “I don’t need easy, I need possible”. She has adapted as a one armed surfer to compete with the world champs- how inspiring and encouraging for the next generation of athletes!
-I love how they ended the film. The “Rise Up” song in the credits was such a great fit! It was great to see a little bit about Friends of Bethany– her non-profit. Donate Here. Being an early childhood specialist and having a toddler myself- I LOVED seeing Adam and Bethany read the children’s book they wrote to their little one at the end. Also kudos for listing all of their kickstarter contributors.

**A highly encouraging and motivational watch- I recommend watching this with your friends and with kids, specifically teen girls!

Check it out!

-If you enjoyed this Unstoppable review you might like our blog about not quitting on your goals, Mother Theresa and impostor syndrome, or about building your community.
-Our other reviews of Christian movies; Overcomer, Breakthrough, Tolkien, I Still Believe, Just Mercy, and The Chosen Series.
-Find this documentary here or on Netflix.
-Bethany has a photography and inspirational quote book out as well called Be Unstoppable.
-You can find Adam and Bethany’s adorable Children’s Book here
-Check out Bethany Hamilton’s Biography, Soul Surfer, or the movie based on her book, Soul Surfer on Netflix.
-Also, you can keep up with Bethany and her story on her Youtube Channel

Down The Hobbit Hole Blog uses affiliate links, we only link products we think you’ll like and you are never charged extra for them. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. We also use cookies to gather analytics and present advertisements. This allows us to keep writing discussion questions and telling ridiculous dad jokes. Find our other reviews with discussion questions here. Our posts about faith here. And our posts about family stuff here.

How have you been unstoppable!?

Check out Bethany’s course The Unstoppable Year here! Not an ad- we are just loving the course ourselves and want you to know about it!